About emma

Emma Beqaj: A lover of everything food since about five years old while helping make banana muffins in the kitchen, Emma has turned into a complete and utter foodie. Always thinking, talking, breathing, and living food, Emma dedicates her days to knowing as much as she can and about the food industry worldwide. Her guiding passion is the biggest part of her life (during and outside of work) and this lifelong passion of hers has turned real with her acceptance into a Culinary Management Program at the George Brown Chef School in Toronto and the development of her food blog at Emma's Eatery. Living in Toronto, Emma’s Canadian food adventures are never-ending. Enjoy the posts on FoodTrotter related to Emma’s culinary experiences in her home, Canada, and globally!
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Eataly: a slice of Italy nestled into the heart of New York City

by emma on 2011/03/31 in Featured Article, Food and Travel, Foodie Guide, North America, World Recipes and Ingredients

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Eataly has been the top reason for a must-take NYC trip and I luckily got there this month, finally! Now to share the magic of Eataly: what it is and why you need to go! This place is what I consider to be Italian heaven: fresh ingredients, the best products for every price point, hand made foods… basically all the best parts of Italy. This place is a mecca for those looking to cook, learn about, or eat Italian food. It took me forever to wander through here, aisle after aisle and restaurant after restaurant.

Eataly is a massive marketplace in the heart of Manhattan giving New Yorkers & visitors a taste of Italy. Eataly is the creation of Italian-American restaurateurs Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Matticchio Bastlianich, and the founder behind the gourmet food and wine market (Eataly) in Turin, Oscar Farinetti. The 50,000-foot-space is more than just a supermarket with restaurants; it is an energetic marketplace, a place to taste and take home products that inspire the rustic coking of Italy, and a place to learn about the country, the trade and their products. Eataly is the “heartbeat of Italy.”

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The complex includes multiple restaurants (an Italian steakhouse, a Neapolitan pizzeria, a gelaterie, a microbrewery, and year-round rooftop beer garden etc.), a cooking school, aisles upon aisles of fresh produce and Italian products, and the ability to buy the ingredients of a dish you just ate in one of their restaurants. There is also a travel agent on hand who will help you arrange a trip to Italy to visit food and wine producers. If you can’t quite commit to the flight right away, there is a bookstore, wine store and houseware store where you can purchase goods such as espresso makers from Bialetti to help you in living la dolce vita.

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My favourite part about the place is probably the meat and cheese area. When I walked into Eataly, the first thing I encountered was the Salumi & Cheese restaurant, where boards were filled with house made meats and cheeses. The taleggio was calling my name! If I lived in New York, I honestly don’t think I would be able to shop anywhere else. The selection at Eataly is out of the world… and with full 4 tier cases of different parmesan or proscuitto, how can you go wrong?! The produce is incredibly fresh, with seasonality being key for availability, and the variety at each station is astonishing. There are so many different mushrooms and onions, I just could not stop staring and exploring! I never wanted to leave! The coolest part I find about Eataly, is that it is not just a tourist trap; New Yorkers actually shop there! A tip: I went on a Saturday, and the place was packed! The meat and cheese restaurant bar was already full at 11am with people eating pasta and pizza. I sampled an Italian sandwich of crusty baguette and house cure prosciutto: simple and perfect, classic European.

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Bringing Italy’s “Eataly” to North America was a fabulous idea. Created to inspire fresh, good and passion filled eating is, IMHO, necessary to combat the ever problematic epidemic of salt and fat laden fast food. This general concept is something I feel strongly about and I think promoting this idea by encouraging everyone to visit Eataly, to taste, experience, and eat! The more people become engaged the better, and it’s impossible not to begin, or deepen, your love affair with food or Italy while in Eataly.

Located: the Toy building at Fifth Ave. between 23rd and 24th in New York City
200 5th Avenue
NY 10010, United States
(646) 398-5100
Subway: 23 St

[Images courtesy of Emma and Gastronomichael]

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Where is the Best Tapas in Spain?

by emma on 2011/02/10 in Europe, Featured Article, Food and Travel, Foodie Guide

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Eating, drinking, and sharing in good fun with friends is popular in every culture, but Spanish tapas takes this notion to a whole new level. While living in Spain I fell in love with the corner tapas bars that populate the country. You can’t travel to Spain without understanding this amazing concept and knowing what to look for!

Tapas is a legendary snack from Spain, a mouthful of magic. It is a bite size appetizer or snack (but can also turn into a main meal when consuming many!) Tapa means lid or cover, so the idea behind the name was that this little morsel that sat on a small plate would be the cover to your wine glass to avoid insects from getting in. Tapas has turned into so much more than just a cover for your wine! Tomar tapas (going for tapas) is a culture in Spain. The bars specializing in these treats are everywhere, and there are even streets dedicated solely to tapas bars. I lived in Logrono, in the wine region of La Rioja (lucky me!) and Calle Laurel was the place to be if you wanted tapas. Basically any night of the week this place would be packed with groups of friends traveling from bar to bar, tasting the specialty each joint had to offer! You literally can spend an entire night in one bar tasting all of their different pinchos (another word meaning tapas, generally said in the north of Spain). When I was in San Sebastian for a weekend, my friend and I stumbled upon an incredible tapas bar. We were early to the scene though, hungry by 8:30 when most don’t even head out to eat well after 10pm!! Still, it was so cool to stay in one bar for the night, trying absolutely everything and indulging in conversation with the many people who kept coming in and out of the spot. As you may have guessed, tapas is eaten standing up at a bar, (there are never seats in tapas bars!) with a glass of wine (vino tinto – red wine is the most typical) or a beer in hand surrounded by good friends (old and new) and interesting conversation.

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My favourite dishes, and some of the most popular include patatas bravas (fried square potatoes served with a spicy red sauce on a toothpick, or in dish to share), tortilla Española (the quintessential Spanish omelet layered with onion and potatoes), jamón ibérico (Spain’s famous cured ham just on a piece of white baguette, you don’t need anything more!), croquettas de jamón (fried cheese balls studded with ham) and champi (Champi is short for champigon, mushroom, and they are cooked in garlic and served as a trio on a little piece of bread). It is quite common that a tapa will be served on a little round of white baguette! I have only listed a few, but there are much much more choices available; in the town where I lived pineapple and shrimp skewers were popular as well as a skewer of salchichón (sausage). Generally I would say a tapa is between 1-4 Euros depending on the ingredients! A word to the wise: more than a few bars don’t have a specialty and instead have a slew on appetizers on display. These can be a bit old, so make sure to ask for a fresh one to be made; most bars will do this, as the ones on the counter are simply to display the many choices they have to offer!

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Another tip: before eating a tapa it is custom to cheers glasses with your companions and say Salud!! (Cheers!!) Seville is considered to be the tapas capital of Spain, but each city is unique in what they bring to the tapas market. I adored the tapas street in my town and subsequently the one I found in San Sebastian! If in Seville, head to Calle Jose de Velilla, a popular street filled some of the city’s favourite tapas spots. As I said, in Logrono, the street to be is Calle Laurel, and as regards San Sebastian anywhere in the Casco Viejo (old town) is the place to be. I’ve refrained from including names of tapas bars to visit, because each one is unique in their own way. The main thing to do when looking for great tapas is find a street where there are a multitude of bars serving up different specialties, because it is through adventuring you will really learn what “doing a tapas night” really means! When visiting Spain, take a night off from eating at your scheduled restaurant and try this Spanish tradition that is celebrated nationally!

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Nova Scotia = Seafood Paradise

by emma on 2011/01/13 in Featured Article, Food and Travel, North America

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Going to university provided me with the chance to live in a different part of Canada for four years. As such, I spent my university days on Canada’s East Coast, in a little town called Wolfville, only an hour from Halifax. I had never been a big seafood or fish fan, but this quickly changed during my time out east. Eastern Canada is just gorgeous, as is the produce (example: mussels, haddock, lobsters, and scallops) that comes out of there. Now that I’m back in Toronto, I constantly find myself craving fresh East Coast mussels. They just don’t compare when they have to travel before they are served up!

Seafood can be tricky to learn to love, and many think that seafood is too fishy for them. This was the best part about learning to love seafood on Canada’s East Coast… all the seafood out east is incredibly fresh, and doesn’t have any hint of “fishiness” or slime that many associate with seafood. As Nova Scotia is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, they are a leader in high quality seafood, with great retailers serving up over 50 different types of seafood. After spending four years there I became quite familiar with my favourite products and places.

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My favorite mussels are from Indian Point. Indian Point Marine Farm Limited is where the mussels come from, collected from the waters of Nova Scotia’s beautiful Mahone Bay. The great part about Indian Point is their strong commitment to practicing sustainable mussel cultivation. The crew at Indian Point goes the extra mile to ensure that they are harvesting the seafood at high quality standards, by cleaning, inspecting, and grading them before sending them out for purchase. Haddock is always line caught in Nova Scotia. Line-catching is a more selective fishing method compared to the traditional “bottom-trawling,” a destructive process where large nets weighted with chains tear up the oceans seabed’s, catching unwanted sea creatures. The line catching method uses hooks on a long line to catch the fish, which in turn does not disrupt the ocean’s other creatures. The lobsters are always Fundy Lobsters, meaning they come from the Bay of Fundy, a northern point in Nova Scotia. Fundy Lobsters are incredibly popular as they have the largest average size at maturity, due to their colder habitat waters. The cold water also contributes to the high quality of meat, and their diet on the bay contributes to a delicious flavour. Digby scallops are always talked about, and indeed, are the only ones to get in all of Nova Scotia. They are incredibly sweet and fresh, due to quick fishing trips and efficient processing at the plant, and customers can be assured a quick turn around from ocean to land.

My two suggestions for seafood in Nova Scotia are in both Wolfville (where my school Acadia University is located) and Halifax (the capital of Nova Scotia, and only an hour from Wolfville!). Halifax is an extremely important historical city in Canada, as it is the city where all immigrants coming into Canada first landed in, going through the famous “Pier 21” customs once off the boats.

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For the freshest and most wonderful mussels and scallops head to the Tempest (117 Front Street, 902-542-0588) in Wolfville. Their mussels are my favourite: Indian Point, flavoured with Spanish chorizo, parsley, garlic, and white wine. (Approx $12 cad). The scallops are generally dressed differently month-to-month! A few of my favourite were the simple flavours, like a lovely beurre blanc. For lobster, McKelvie’s in Halifax, (1680 Lower Water Street, 902-421-6161) serves whole lobster with succulent melted butter (in my opinion, the perfect companion to lobster!)
I hope in reading this post your mouth is watering for East Coast seafood and that you’ve put Nova Scotia down as place to food trot to! They do seafood so well; it is some of the world’s freshest and the flavours and textures are incredible. I loved living there and am grateful for the ability to have been so close to fresh seafood.

For more information on dining at the Tempest visit http://www.tempest.ca/ and for McKelvie’s visit http://mckelvies.com/ . Food trotters, have you tried any of the bountiful wonders the East Coast ocean has to offer? Or can you suggest somewhere an enthusiastic seafood lover like me might find something equally delicious to satisfy my cravings?!

[Pictures courtesy of Indian Point, ..shazza.., Much Music, and jjphotos.ca]

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A Beginner’s Guide to Greek Food – Emma’s Food Trip to Greece

by emma on 2010/12/15 in Europe, Featured Article, Food and Travel

[We'd like to welcome Emma, the newest addition to our Food Trotter team! Emma is a Canadian food adventurer, a student at the Culinary Management Program at George Brown Chef School in Toronto, and author of her own food blog Emma's Eatery]

I adore Greek food and fulfilled one of my food trotter goals when I travelled to Athens, Santorini, and Ios this summer with my two girlfriends. My family is Albanian, and as Greek and Albanian foods are quite similar (we share many dishes such as spanakopita and baklava), naturally Greek food is one of my favourites. My love for Greek food began on the Danforth, the Greek area of Toronto, but after experiencing authentic Greek food in Greece, I can confidently say that this love is no fleeting affair. From the tzatziki, a refreshing dip found in every restaurant, to the saganaki, a flambéed and melted cheese appetizer, I can truly say that my food trotting of Greece will last with me forever!

We landed in Greece while the sun was setting just over the hills, and all I could think of was the food that lay ahead. Tired and hungry, we arrived at the hotel and set out to start our two week experience of Greece’s culinary scene. I don’t think I could talk about Greece without writing about Tzatziki, a staple at every Greek restaurant. Tzatziki is a traditional “sauce” made from strained yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, pepper, and lemon juice. It is always served cold and usually accompanies pita, souvlaki, or gyros. Tzatziki is creamy yet light and refreshing, the perfect dip on a scorching hot day and delicious on just about anything. The fun part of a traditional dish like this is having the ability to try different restaurants take on the dish, so although the concept is the same, each place can customize it with their own unique twist. A good tzatziki is one that is seasoned well and not too thinned out; you really want to taste that thick Greek yoghurt being used in the dip. In my opinion, the more cucumber the better as it only helps to enhance flavour.

My favourite dish however is Saganaki! The cheese used for saganaki is usually kefalograviera, a type of sheep’s milk feta (much like halloumi). The cheese is melted in a hot frying-pan until it bubbles. It is then brought to the table in the pan and doused with a fresh lemon. In more westernized Greek cuisine, saganaki is flambéed at the table with brandy (usually with a shout of OPA!) and put out with the traditional lemon. I cannot describe to you how delicious saganaki truly is. When looking for a good saganaki, make sure the cheese is perfectly warm and oozing when it arrives at the table. It should have a bit of a brown crisp to it from being fried in a pan as it is typically served in a cast iron two handled pan.

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I have told you about my two favourite Greek dishes, but in all honesty, everything I ate there was phenomenal. The Greek salads were wonderful, filled with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, capers, with big hunks of feta sprinkled with oregano and drizzled with olive oil. Spanakopita, a warm dish of phyllo pastry filled with spinach and feta, is an ideal on-the-go meal for the walking traveller. And Baklava, a dessert pastry filled with pistachios and then smothered with honey, was a staple dessert among myself and my girlfriends!

Living in Toronto, I am lucky to choose from a bevy of Greek restaurants that are able to provide amazing authentic Greek food right at my fingertips. My favourite spot in the city (and the best place for tzatziki and saganaki) is one I have been too for over 10 years, Mezes (456 Danforth Avenue, Toronto Ontario). Mezes serves traditional Greek food, with a wonderfully friendly atmosphere. The food at this restaurant mimics the food I found in Greece better than anyone else in Toronto. The Greek philosophy of food being a part of the culture shines through at Mezes and is a clear reflection in their food.

A great website to check out for all things food and travel in Greece is kalofagas.ca.

[Pictures courtesy of Emma, greek-salad-recipes, recipekey, and greenwichmeantime]

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